


omamori

by robotjellyfish



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, RinAi - Freeform, rintori - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-08
Updated: 2015-07-08
Packaged: 2018-04-08 08:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4297137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robotjellyfish/pseuds/robotjellyfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Ai you have blue eyes!” Rin stated staring directly into the others eyes now as if he were seeing them for the first time. He’d always known the boy had blue eyes of course, but he hadn’t really noticed until now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	omamori

The first time Ai saw Rin swim he fell in love. Of course at the time he wasn’t sure what the overwhelming feeling that welled inside his chest really meant, but he knew that he admired Rin. He loved the way the red head boy swam, straightforward and confident. There wasn’t the typical elegance to his swimming, instead his style was something else; something powerful and fun that thrilled him as he watched. Ai watched each of Rin’s races with a big smile on his face, his heart thumping so loudly he worried that people might hear it over all the cheering. 

He was far too shy to approach the boy that first time his eyes fixed up on the score board instead burning the boy’s name into him memory, determined that next time he would speak to him. 

 

\- -

 

After watching the boy race Rin was all that Ai could think about. He longed to watch the other swim again, maybe even swim with him. If only they were in the same swim club that would have a dream come true. But knew already of course that Rin wasn’t in the same swim club as him, and despite the relatively compact size of the town Rin’s club was too far away for him to commute to alone, his mother would never allow it, so his dream of swimming with Rin was swiftly crushed. 

However this minor inconvenience by no means dampened Ai’s enthusiasm or his adoration of Rin, after all he was sure to see the red head boy at the next tournament so he only needed to wait until then. In preparation for the inevitable encounter Ai trained harder than he ever had before, throwing all of his effort into practice he hoped that if he worked hard enough, did well enough, Rin just might notice him too. 

However even at such a young age Ai felt he knew his own limitations, the shadow of self-doubt hanging over his head telling him that no matter how well he did it would never be good enough to get Rin’s attention. The other boy was just too far out of his reach. Simply training hard was not enough; he needed something else. He needed an excuse to talk to Rin. 

Ai thought long and hard of various ways he could start a conversation with Rin going through all sorts of increasingly stranger and stranger scenarios in his head until he eventually settled on the thankful normal idea of giving the other boy a small gift. Giving Rin, a complete stranger, a gift out of the blue was still rather odd but Ai reasoned Rin was very likely to win all of his races, in fact he was sure of it, so a small congratulatory gift was not so out of the ordinary. 

The next challenge Ai faced was what he could possibly give Rin. He wanted it to be something special but nothing over the top, he didn’t want to scare Rin or creep him out after all. 

Maybe a cute little key chain, or a teddy bear one of those generic gifts with ‘congratulations’ splashed across it. Flowers were also another option and the sort of thing typically given to someone after a victory. But flowers would die and Ai wanted to give Rin something that would last, a gift that would mean something. 

It was on a shrine visit with his mother that the idea finally came to him. The rows of bright, colourful omamori neatly lined up drew his eye and he hurried over to them hoping to find something suitable. The counter unfortunately was rather high up especially for Ai who was rather small for his age anyway, and he had to grab the edge of the worn countertop to pull himself up onto his tip-toes so that he could look over it at all the charms lined up for sale. 

There were of course all the usual charms, charms for school, charms for love, charms for driving, charms for safety but nothing that really called out to him; nothing that would be fit Rin. There were no charms for swimming; the closest was a charm for safety at sea which really wasn’t what he needed. Another problem was that they all looked the same none of them were unique. None of them were good enough. 

Feeling his hopes sink Ai frowned, his chin falling to the counter and his small shoulders slumping in an expression of abject disappointment. At this rate he would never find anything. 

“Why whatever’s the matter?” the sweet, gentle voice of the attending shrine maiden called to him, but not even her kind voice could lift the boys head. 

“None of them are right,” Ai replied dejectedly, little tears of frustration shimmering at the corner of his eyes as he stared angrily at the charms as if they were to blame. 

“Aiichirou, don’t say that!” His mother, who’d been standing behind him while he studied the charms, quickly scolded her son turning to give the shrine maiden a small, apologetic bow. 

The young woman shook her head turning back to the boy with the same gentle smile. 

“Really now that is a shame,” she said a thoughtful frown tugging at her lips, “what exactly are you looking for?” 

“I need a charm for someone…special,” Ai mumbled, his cheeks going pink at the admission. He hadn’t told anyone yet about his plan, or how much he liked Rin. Even his mother was currently staring at him her mouth hanging open. 

“There’s someone I really like….I like watching them swim, I want them always to keep swimming, and to keep winning, and I want to make sure he’s always safe when he swims because water can be dangerous….I need something like that..” Ai explained his voice still soft and hesitant. 

“Oh dear that is very special isn’t it? I don’t think even the big temples will have anything like that,” the young woman sighed sympathetically, which only made Ai’s frown of disappointment grow deeper. Before she could say anything else though the boy suddenly straightened up fixing her with a steady, hopefully gaze. 

“Miss I know that the kami usually make the omamori, but do you think just once it will be ok if I make my own?” 

She stared at him for a moment unable to help the soft chuckle that left her lips. That the boy thought the kami made the charms was far too sweet a mistake to correct, and she didn’t want to disappoint him further. 

“Well now that it is true the kami grant the charms power I don’t think they mind if people make them,” she said slowly, watching as the boy’s strained hopeful expression turned into a bright smile of relief. 

“Really? So if I make my own will the kami give me a little bit of their power to make it lucky?” 

“I think if you ask nicely they will,” she replied with another gentle laugh, “now if you make the wrapping yourself and come back when you’re finish I can give you the special paper to put inside the charm, then we can ask the kami together to bless it. Would you like that?” 

Ai, now bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet quickly nodded.

“Yes please thank you miss!” he all but yelled. 

“Thank you very much,” his mother added with a deep bow, her hand pressing lightly on the top of her son’s head to stop him from jumping about quite so much. 

“You are very welcome,” the young woman smiled returning the bow. It may not exactly have been common for someone to make their own omamori, but her shrine was a small, family run place and nowhere near as strict as some of the bigger ones may be. She saw no harm in it, and she was sure even the kami wouldn’t mind that boy, whose smile had been so bright and innocent, making his own charm for someone he held so dear. 

 

\- - 

 

Ai spent the next few days making the charm, modelling the shape after one he already owned so that it would be perfect. He worked all by himself using the crafting skills he’d learned at school and refusing any help his mother offered. The design was more complex than it perhaps needed to be with Ai deciding adding an animal that was good at swimming would make it even more lucky. 

He quickly decided that a shark suited Rin the best. Sharks were powerful swimmers and although they seemed rather scary he knew they could actually be quite gentle just like Rin, or at least that was the impression he got of the other boy. So Ai carefully constructed a small shark onto the swirly red kimono fabric building it up from small pieces of fabric he meticulously stitched and glued together with utmost care. 

It was by no means perfect, and only just distinguishable as a shark, but after hours of hard work and several pricked fingers it was finished. Now all that was left was another trip to the shrine. 

The same young shrine maiden was there to help, together they wrote the wish paper to go inside the charm and then she taught Ai how to braid the cord at the top. All that was left was a quick prayer, Ai leaving an offering of all the pocket money he’d been saving up to buy a gift for Rin, and the charm was ready. 

 

\- - 

 

The next tournament arrived quickly and Ai was a bundle of nerves as he walked into the gym. It wasn’t just his performance in the race he was worried about; his eyes urgently scanned the room searching for the familiar shock of red hair. He hadn’t seen him yet but he had to be here, he just had to be! 

After a few panicked moments of not being able to spot the red head at all Ai eventually saw him surrounded by a group of friends shinning as brightly as the last time he’d had seen him. Ai felt his nerves grow, the fluttering butterflies in his stomach turning into stampeding elephants. But he was determined not to give up. Today he would talk to Rin! But after the tournament was over…

 

\- -

 

Ai didn’t win any of his races although he did swim a personal best in all of them something he at least could be proud of. Still it wasn’t enough to get Rin to notice him that much he was sure of. With a sense of disappointment weighing him down he trudged towards the exit, the charm held tightly between his hands hesitating on going through with his plan. 

Rin had done so well, and to top off his excellent performance he’d won the relay race with his team. He surely wouldn’t want a silly little gift from someone who hadn’t even managed to win a bronze. He considered giving up, maybe he should just try again next time when he was able to do better and hold his head up high in front of the other boy. But he had worked so hard on the charm.

“Oi Haru wait up!” the sharp voice sounded very suddenly at his side making him jump. Rin had appeared out of nowhere stalking hurriedly past Ai as he chased after the dark haired boy who’d been a part of the relay team with him. An energetic blond boy ran past both of them, jumping on Haru effectively cutting off his escape.

They flashed passed him in an instant and suddenly Rin was so close that Ai could have touched him, he could just reach out and grab the other’s arm. Now that Nagisa had a firm grip on Haru Rin had slowed down to a steady walk and was only a few steps ahead of Ai, all the silver haired boy needed to do was call out. Taking a deep breath Ai summoned all the courage he had. 

“Rin…” he mumbled nervously, hesitantly, his voice too quiet for anyone to hear. Then he quickly remembered his manners, calling the boy by his first name would be far too familiar. Gripping the charm tighter he squeezed his eyes shut, silently asking for it to lend him just a little bit of its power, just for a moment. 

“Ma...Matsuoka-san!” he yelled, stumbling over the syllables in his rush to say the others name. Rin stopped, even the dark haired boy he’d been chasing cast a curious look back at them and Nagisa watched with wide eyed curiosity. 

“Huh? Who me?” Rin turned slowly, his red eyes darting about questioningly before they landed on Ai. Rin frowned slightly, wondering why someone his own age was addressing him so formally and why the unfamiliar boy looked so scared. His pale skin glowed a bright red and the boy only gave a sharp nod in reply, his eyes still screwed tightly shut. He was trembling before him like a little kitten and Rin worried that he might burst into tears at any moment. 

“Hey are you ok?” his voice a little softer now Rin took a step closer to the boy using the same gentle, reassuring tone he used with Gou whenever she was upset. Maybe the boy was lost and just needed help? But as he moved closer the boy tensed, his small shoulders hunching up making him look even tinier, and Rin, who had been about to place a gentle hand on the other shoulder quickly dropped his arm back to his side and waited. 

After a moment of strained silence the boy drew a sharp, deep breath and slowly opened his eye. As he lifted his head Rin was greeted by a pair of wide, frightened blue eyes gazing up at him from beneath thick, dark lashes. They were such a vivid, striking colour that Rin couldn’t help but stare. The blue reminded him of Haru’s eyes, eye’s that seemed to hold the ocean in them, but while Haru’s were as dark and mysterious as the deepest depth of the ocean the boys eyes were a gentler more inviting blue, like the blue of a tropical sea. 

“Matsuoka-san, I umm….I…congratulations on winning the relay!” Ai said quickly, hiding the hand that held the charm behind his back with a sudden jerky movement. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. 

“Oh…umm thanks. I couldn’t have done it without my friends though!” Rin replied still a little distracted by the others eyes, but then the spell was suddenly broken as the boy looked away shyly. 

Silence stretched again and Rin could feel Nagisa’s eyes burning into the back of his head making his hair stand on end. Although it was obvious the boy had more to say he was clearly reluctant to do so and Rin was starting to feel very self-conscious with his friends staring at them so blatantly. 

“Well anyway, I better go…” he tried to excuse himself, about to turn away when the boy called out to him again. 

“Wait!” taking a quick step towards the other Ai looked up at Rin, his eyes now filled with such a sense of urgency that it froze Rin in place. 

Realising how close he was standing to Rin Ai’s blush instantly grew darker, his expression quickly changing to one of embarrassment as he jumped backwards.  
“Sorry,” he mumbled, bringing his hands in front on him now he clutched his fists to his chest. 

“That’s ok,” Rin assured gently, though he had been a little startled at the others sudden leap backward, “was there something else you wanted?” 

“Well…umm...Iwantedtogiveyouthis!” his words came out all jumbled together into one as his hand shot forward, presenting the charm to Rin on an outstretched palm. His head bowed, eyes closed tightly again as he waited nervously for the other boy to take the gift. 

“Oh…ok,” Rin stared at the charm for a moment before he very carefully picked it up by the cord between his thumb and fore finger, letting it dangle in the air for a moment before he closed his other hand around it. 

The gift certainly was a surprise but right now the boy was far more interesting, so Rin didn’t bother to look too closely at the charm his gaze returning to Ai instead. He wondered why a stranger would bother to give him something like this, a niggling at the back of his mind questioning if he had met the boy before and just forgotten. He searched his memories, looking for anything that might offer a hint but there was nothing. 

“I really like the way you swim Matsuoka-san!” the boy said suddenly his head snapping up, the intensity of his gaze startling Rin. He was dead serious now, and though his face was still red he spoke without a hint of hesitation utterly sincere. 

“The way you swim….the way you swim….I really like watching you. You make me want to try harder too…so thank you.” 

“The way…I swim,” taken a back at the compliment Rin cast a quick glance over at Haru; he was used to people admiring Haru’s style. Everyone was enamoured with the way the boy swam it was a simple fact; surely the boy was thinking of Haru and had just gotten them mixed up…

“Are you sure you don’t mean Haru?” he asked, but Ai shook his head violently making himself almost dizzy with the force. 

“No, it’s you. I love the way you swim Matsuoka-san! So please, always swim like that, I love watching you!” 

“Right…ok,” trying to hide the pleased flush that now rose in his cheek Rin looked away, shuffling his feet nervously not quite sure how to respond. 

“Umm… well that’s all, bye-bye!” Ai gave a quick jerky bow and before Rin could stop him he’d turned tail and ran away vanishing almost instantly into the crowd. 

“What was that Rinrin? A love letter?” Nagisa jumped excitedly bouncing away from Haru and towards his next target. 

“No it was not a love letter!” Rin growled, his blush growing darker as he stuffed the charm into his coat pocket. 

“Aww come on Rinrin show me show me!” Nagisa laughed jumping around Rin as he tried to snatch the item out of the red head’s pocket while Rin did his best to try and shoo the blond away, his hand curled protectively around the charm. 

“Makoto’s waiting,” Haru interrupted sounding bored as he began to walk away from them ready to leave them behind if they didn’t follow. 

“Ah Haru-chan wait!” leaving Rin alone for now Nagisa ran after Haru, the red head following behind at a steadier pace his hand still in his pocket curled around the charm. 

 

\- -

 

Rin ended up taking the charm with him to Australia more by accident than design, when he arrived home after the tournament he’d been so busy preparing for the impending move that the charm completely slipped his mind.

He found it again on the boring flight over, his hand slipping absently into his coat pocket as he stared out the window. 

Now he was able to get a good look at it. The charm was so obviously handmade that he was only just able to tell the animal on it was meant to be a shark. It was cute though, the boy had obviously put a lot of effort into it and Rin could still clearly remember his words, how the boy liked his swimming in the same way he liked Haru’s. He could understand those feelings, though he’d never thought someone might feel like that towards him. 

With a look of determination Rin closed his hand around the charm, squeezing it tightly making a silent promise to himself. He was going to do so well in Australia, he was going to get better and better and beat Haru and become a swimmer that boy could be proud of. 

“Oh I forgot to ask his name….” Rin mused aloud feeling slightly deflated all of a sudden. It would be hard to find the boy again if he didn’t know his name so Rin sat back closing his eyes he bought the boy’s face to mind his vision filling with the vivid blue of those eyes. 

 

\- -

 

Meeting Rin again at Samezuka was like a dream come true, and sharing a room with him was more than Ai could have asked for. The fact that Rin didn’t seem to remember him, or at least didn’t bother to mention the charm he’d given him all those years ago was a small price to pay. 

Rin was a difficult roommate at first, nothing like the happy, optimistic child he’d admired so much. But Ai refused to give up on Rin or write him off, he still remembered how Rin had looked when he swam, how free and happy he’d been. The whole reason Ai was on the swimming team still was due to the way Rin had inspired him. He was still so in love with the way the other boy swam he wanted to see it again, and despite the way Rin had angrily rejected anything to do with swimming at first he was sure the red head wanted to get back in the water too. 

Ai stood by Rin through all the foul moods and angry outbursts, he still had hope that the boy he’d met during those tournaments was still there and he would not give up. However he was at a loss as to how to truly help Rin, he didn’t know what had happened while the other boy had been in Australia, he had no idea what could have changed Rin so much but the one thing he could do was support Rin, letting him know he was there for him. Ai’s dedication to the red head was unfailing and he watched with pride as Rin slowly came back to himself and reconciled with his old friends. Watched as Rin became the swimmer he remembered.

So much had happened during that year and it had passed so quickly. Before he knew it was over and Rin was moving out. 

It was a sad day for Ai as he watched Rin methodically pack away all his things ready for the move. He was trying not to let it get to him too much after all he would still see Rin every day at school and at practice, but even so he couldn’t help but feel glum as he watched Rin’s side of the room grow steadily emptier and emptier. 

He offered to help Rin with packing, mainly so he could spend a little more time with the other boy, but the red head had kindly refused his help sending him out on an errand to buy drinks instead. 

Ai knew it was just a ploy to get him out of the way so that Rin could pack in peace, so he walked a few slow laps around the school before finally stopping off at the vending machines, walking another lap before making his way back to their dorm room. A room that would soon only be his, it was a rather depressing thought. 

When he got back to the room he found Rin crawling around on his hands and knees beneath his desk evidently searching for something. 

“Rin-senpai? Are you ok?” Ai asked approaching the other cautiously.

“Oh Ai you’re back? Yeah I’m fine, just looking for something….” he replied absently as he crawled a little further under the desk. 

“Ok...” carefully setting the drinks down on the desk Ai took a quick look around the room wondering what it was Rin could be looking for. Rin hadn’t offered any explanation to what he was doing or what he was looking for so there wasn’t really much to go on. 

He made a slow circle of the room, Rin still shuffling about on the floor by his desk. Nothing struck Ai as out of the ordinary at first until he drew closer to the bunks, the end of a frayed string poking out from under the lower bed catching his eye. It wasn’t anything special looking and more than likely was just rubbish but Ai went to pick it up anyway so he could throw it. 

Unexpectedly something came along with the string, something Ai had thought he would never see again. A small gasp left his lips and he held his breath for a moment as he saw the charm. Seeing it now he saw how childish and messy it really was he suddenly felt very embarrassed he had ever made at all. But why did Rin still have it? Why hadn’t he said anything? 

“Oh you bought the drinks, thanks,” Rin’s voice snapped Ai back to reality and before he could think about what he was doing Ai quickly stuffed the charm into his pocket as he turned to face the other. 

“Yes I did. Sorry I took a while it was such a nice day I wanted to enjoy it. Actually it’s so nice I think I’ll go for another walk, see you later Rin-senpai!” Ai spoke quickly hardly pausing for breath as he hurried over to the door closing it smartly behind him once he’d finished talking. 

“Right….bye,” Rin muttered to the closed door wondering what had gotten into the boy all of a sudden. It had been almost impossible to get rid of him earlier now it seemed like Ai didn’t want to spend another moment around him. 

“I’ll ask him what’s wrong when he gets back,” Rin sighed to himself, surveying the room again. He was worried about Ai’s odd behaviour, but he had something more important to deal with first. He needed to find that charm. 

 

\- - 

 

Once he was a safe distance away from the dorms Ai took the charm out of his pocket studying it closely. It still looked how he remembered, and although it was worn and grubby, the colours faded with time it was still in good condition and clearly well cared for. The frayed cord that tied it all together at the top however had snapped and that was what had caught Ai’s attention. 

Maybe it was just a coincidence? Rin had just brought it along by accident and then it had been dropped during the packing. But the worn nature of the charm told him that Rin must have spent many a time holding it tightly. Had Rin really cherished it so much? And if he had why hadn’t he said anything? 

Ai absently tugged at the broken cord as he walked pondering these questions to himself, maybe Rin did remember but just didn’t want to say anything. Or maybe Rin had completely forgotten the first time they’d met and had only kept the charm in the hope it would bring him luck. But no matter how much Ai contemplated the issue he couldn’t guess what Rin was thinking. Still one thing was certain Rin had kept the charm and had used it; this alone was enough to make Ai happy on such a gloomy day. 

It was a shame the cord had broken, though he supposed it was a miracle the charm had lasted so long in the first place. On closer inspection Ai saw that it would be easy enough to fix and he was sure he still remembered how to braid the cord. 

With a new spring in his step he hurriedly made his way to the shops. He would fix the charm and hand it back to Rin before he left; it would be a nice little parting gift.

 

\- - 

 

After a quick shopping trip Ai made his way back to the dorms again. Approaching their room with caution he opened the door slowly sneaking in with the air of somebody up to no good. He glanced around quickly and, for the first time ever, let out a small sigh of relief as he realised Rin was not there. 

Hurrying over to his desk Ai shoved a disorganized pile of text books to the side to make a little room before carefully setting out the charm and decorative cord he’d just purchased. It wouldn’t take him long to fix, he would surely be able to do it before Rin got back so he quickly got to work. 

After snipping off the old, broken cord all he needed to do was thread the new cord and braid it. It was a simple task but one that Ai became deeply focused on as he worked his hardest to do as neat a job as possible to make up for the mess he’d made the first time. He was so deeply engrossed that he didn’t hear the door open, nor did he hear Rin’s ominous footsteps approach as he finished off the final knot. 

“Ai, what are you doing with that?” Rin’s voice was calm, but cold with a hint of his old anger that chilled Ai. He turned to face Rin slowly, the charm still in his hands.  
Taking a step closer Rin snatched the charm from Ai’s limp grip. Closing his hand protectively around it Rin glared down at his roommate, his eyes burning furiously.  
“Ai?” he repeated, demanding an explanation. Cowering under the force of the others glare Ai sank into his seat, making himself as small as possible his gaze fixed down on his lap unable to meet Rin’s furious red eyes. 

“The cord was broken. I still remembered how to braid it so I just wanted to fix it,” he answered meekly, wringing his hands together still unable to look up.  
“That doesn’t mean you should just take my stuff,” Rin snapped, his grip on the charm tightening possessively. Although his tone wasn’t quite as cold now he was still clearly very angry and Ai sank lower. 

“I’m sorry…I was just…surprised you still had it so I wanted to fix it since it probably broke because I didn’t do a proper job the first time….” Ai sounded utterly miserable now, and clearly he hadn’t meant any harm. As always he had only been trying to help. Seeing the other boy look so dejected Rin realised he may have been over reacting just a little bit. A quick look at the charm in his hand told him Ai had done a good job of fixing it, he hadn’t damaged it at all and he’d picked the perfect complimentary colours for the cord which gave it a new lease of life. It looked almost as good as the day he’d received it…

“Wait…what do you mean…? How do you know about this charm Ai?” something in Ai’s words finally clicked in Rin’s mind. The way he was speaking it was almost as if he was saying he’d made the charm himself. 

Slowly Ai lifted his head still looking rather scared, and Rin mentally kicked himself. No matter how annoyed he was at the loss of the charm there was no reason to take it out on Ai and lose his temper with him; he was supposed to be past that now. 

“I gave you that charm,” he said softly, wide watery blue eyed fixed on Rin. Ai watched nervously as Rin’s expression of cold anger fell away into one of utter disbelief. After a moment his eyes narrowed suspiciously and Rin slowly leaned down moving closer to Ai, so close that the other boy had to lean back so far he was in danger of falling out of his chair. 

“Ai you have blue eyes!” Rin stated staring directly into the others eyes now as if he were seeing them for the first time. He’d always known the boy had blue eyes of course, but he hadn’t really noticed until now. 

“Yes….I do,” with a nervous nod Ai tried to lean back a little further attempting to put a little more distance between them only to wobble and almost loose his balance completely. Rin quickly grabbed his shoulders, holding him in place and pulling him closer his gaze still fixed on Ai’s eyes. 

After everything that had happened in Australia Rin had forgotten what the boy who gave him the charm looked like. Everything had been so dark and bleak then that the cloud of his failures had even thrown the boy’s face in shadow, he’d been sure then that he would never be able to face that boy again. He didn’t want to disappoint the boy who had believed in him so much, who had loved his swimming even more than Haru’s. But that charm had been like a lifeline to him, supporting him through all those dark times reminding him there was someone who believed in him. Someone who didn’t even know him yet believed in him so much anyway…. And that boy had been Ai all along. 

Looking at those blue eyes Rin could finally see it, he could see the tiny version of Ai standing before him nervously handing him the charm as clear as the day it had happened. How could he have ever forgotten?

“Ai…” Rin wasn’t even sure when he started crying, the tears were there before he even realised. His grip tightening on the other’s shoulder he pulled Ai to his feet, wrapping him in a tight embrace. 

“Ai…Ai I’m so sorry…thank you Ai…” he sobbed, his voice muffled as he tucked his head into the curve of Ai’s neck. The boy was so much smaller than him that he had to lean down, practically curling himself around the other.

“Rin-senpai…are you crying? What’s wrong?” still sounding nervous Ai gently patted Rin’s back, awkwardly returning the hug not entirely sure how to handle the situation. Rin was clinging to him so desperately he was afraid of startling the other and making it worse. 

“I’m not crying,” Rin grumbled squeezing Ai tighter as his tears soaked into Ai’s shoulder, “Thank you for the charm…thank you Ai…your gift saved me…” 

At those sincere words a feeling gripped Ai’s chest making him feel breathless. His pulse race and he couldn’t stop the wide grin that suddenly pulled at his lips. So the charm really had helped Rin, he was so glad. The feeling of relief washed away his nervousness and he quickly wrapped his arms around Rin, properly returning the embrace. 

“You’re welcome Rin-senpai.” He whispered silently letting his own tears soak into Rin’s shirt. 

\- -

Even after his tears had dried Rin was reluctant to let Ai go, packing was forgotten for the rest of the night as he pulled the other boy over to his bed so they could lie together still curled around each other. 

They spent the rest of the night talking, Rin, for the first time going into detail about all the things that had happened in the past. A story he hadn’t told anyone yet, not in full. He told Ai everything, how hard it had been at first dealing with the language and the new culture. How some of the children had teased him or just plain ignored him. How the instructors would get mad at him when he didn’t instantly understand what they said to him. He told Ai all about his race with Haru and how that had been the final blow. He had been so reluctant for so long to talk about it but now sharing the story with Ai felt liberating, he felt so much lighter. 

“But your charm really did save me, it gave me hope,” Rin chuckled sheepishly, feeling a little silly for admitting something like that out loud but none the less wanting Ai to know how much it had meant to him. 

“I’m glad it helped you,” Ai replied, a light flush of pink dusting his cheeks. 

“You’ve always been there for me, and I put you through so much this year. I’m sorry,” suddenly very serious now the red head fixed Ai with such a painful look of regret Ai felt the overwhelming urge to kiss him. He held himself back though, lifting a hand to brush away a few wild strands of hair from Rin’s face. 

“There’s no need to apologise Rin-senpai, I’ll always be here for you,” he said sincerely, the gentle smile warming Rin’s heart. 

“You’re too nice,” he chuckled, giving Ai a tight squeezing drawing a startled squeak from the smaller boy. 

Sharing what had happened had been liberating, but it had also been exhausting for Rin and he was soon struggling to keep his eyes open, his words becoming more and more sluggish as he struggled to stay awake. 

Eventually fatigue won out and he fell silent, his eyes closing firmly as he drifted off into a restful sleep. 

Ai watched him for a moment allowing himself a little time to just enjoy the sight of the other’s sleeping face and his closeness. Just when he was considering slipping out of Rin’s grasp and moving to his own bed Rin shifted, his grip on Ai tightening again. 

“Ai…are you proud of me?” he mumbled in his sleep, his face scrunched up in concern as if he feared the answer would be no. Chuckling softly to himself Ai shuffled closer, curling up against Rin’s chest. 

“I’m very proud of you, Rin-senpai,” he whispered deciding he may as well stay here for the night.


End file.
